An elderly friend of my family is moving from Florida back to the
Midwest. Her husband passed away a few years ago and she's decided
their property is too large and hurricanes are too much hassle for her
to deal with on her own.

Some of us will be flying down to help her pack up and move, including
driving her and her worldly goods up to her new home. In exchange for
our help, she's offered us some of her possessions that she doesn't
intend to keep for herself. She's offered me a generator, which I can
use, since I live in a hilly, treed neighborhood that tends to lose
power in severe storms.

I haven't seen the generator and she hasn't been able to provide much
in the way of details, except that it's large and it hasn't been run
or serviced since her husband's death. When she says 'large', I
suspect it will be quite large, because it's a shorefront property and
a very substantial house (seven living rooms, for starters).

I don't know if it's gas or diesel. I don't know the capacity, I don't
know its age. But I'm pretty sure this is going to need some cleaning
and servicing since it hasn't been looked at in about seven years.

I've never owned a generator. Can folks here provide me with tips as
to its cleaning/servicing/testing once it arrives here?

Thanks in advance.

On 08/13/2013 01:58 PM, Moe DeLoughan wrote:
An elderly friend of my family is moving from Florida back to the Midwest. Her husband passed away a few years ago and she's decided their property is too large and hurricanes are too much hassle for her to deal with on her own.

Some of us will be flying down to help her pack up and move, including driving her and her worldly goods up to her new home. In exchange for our help, she's offered us some of her possessions that she doesn't intend to keep for herself. She's offered me a generator, which I can use, since I live in a hilly, treed neighborhood that tends to lose power in severe storms.

I haven't seen the generator and she hasn't been able to provide much in the way of details, except that it's large and it hasn't been run or serviced since her husband's death. When she says 'large', I suspect it will be quite large, because it's a shorefront property and a very substantial house (seven living rooms, for starters).

I don't know if it's gas or diesel. I don't know the capacity, I don't know its age. But I'm pretty sure this is going to need some cleaning and servicing since it hasn't been looked at in about seven years.

I've never owned a generator. Can folks here provide me with tips as to its cleaning/servicing/testing once it arrives here?

Thanks in advance.


Good luck with that!

Florida humidity + ocean-front salt air + hasn't been serviced for seven years = corroded up engine and generator head

In article ,
Moe DeLoughan wrote:

An elderly friend of my family is moving from Florida back to the
Midwest. Her husband passed away a few years ago and she's decided
their property is too large and hurricanes are too much hassle for her
to deal with on her own.

Some of us will be flying down to help her pack up and move, including
driving her and her worldly goods up to her new home. In exchange for
our help, she's offered us some of her possessions that she doesn't
intend to keep for herself. She's offered me a generator, which I can
use, since I live in a hilly, treed neighborhood that tends to lose
power in severe storms.

I haven't seen the generator and she hasn't been able to provide much
in the way of details, except that it's large and it hasn't been run
or serviced since her husband's death. When she says 'large', I
suspect it will be quite large, because it's a shorefront property and
a very substantial house (seven living rooms, for starters).

I don't know if it's gas or diesel. I don't know the capacity, I don't
know its age. But I'm pretty sure this is going to need some cleaning
and servicing since it hasn't been looked at in about seven years.

I've never owned a generator. Can folks here provide me with tips as
to its cleaning/servicing/testing once it arrives here?

Moe-

"Large" is in the eye of the beholder.

If a gasoline model, you most certainly will need to drain the old gas
out of the tank and clean the gum out of the carburetor. If a diesel
model, you may need to replace the starting battery. A diesel may start
right up and run with a good battery.

If she does not have the owners manual, you can probably find it on the
web. I suggest you do whatever it takes to get it running and change
the oil. Then pretend it is new, and run it for ten or twenty hours
under some load as a break-in. Then change the oil again and it should
be ready for the power outage.

As a load, you can use an electric heater or two, depending on its power
rating.

If you want to get serious about generators (or various other
machinery), check out www.smokstak.com.

Fred

I think your best bet is to get the brand size and model from the
machine, when you get it. Do a search online for the owners manual
online probably PDF format. Follow their instructions. Or since it was
free, take it to a shop to have the pros do it over.

Generally, change the oil and air filter. Change the fuel. New spark
plug if needed.

I was given a generator that didn't run. The only problem was shutting
down on low oil safety. Add oil, and it runs. Of course, I changed the
oil and put new oil in.

..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On 8/13/2013 1:58 PM, Moe DeLoughan wrote:
An elderly friend of my family is moving from Florida back to the
Midwest. Her husband passed away a few years ago and she's decided their
property is too large and hurricanes are too much hassle for her to deal
with on her own.

Some of us will be flying down to help her pack up and move, including
driving her and her worldly goods up to her new home. In exchange for
our help, she's offered us some of her possessions that she doesn't
intend to keep for herself. She's offered me a generator, which I can
use, since I live in a hilly, treed neighborhood that tends to lose
power in severe storms.

I haven't seen the generator and she hasn't been able to provide much in
the way of details, except that it's large and it hasn't been run or
serviced since her husband's death. When she says 'large', I suspect it
will be quite large, because it's a shorefront property and a very
substantial house (seven living rooms, for starters).

I don't know if it's gas or diesel. I don't know the capacity, I don't
know its age. But I'm pretty sure this is going to need some cleaning
and servicing since it hasn't been looked at in about seven years.

I've never owned a generator. Can folks here provide me with tips as to
its cleaning/servicing/testing once it arrives here?

Thanks in advance.

I picked up a coleman generator that didnt generate for 50 bucks on craiglist. I had planned on beating down the price but seeing the nice young couple with their new baby i just decided to pay the 50 bucks.... the couple was selling the generator to pay their rent.......

Stopped at a buddys on the way home., he offered to take a look at it.....


he found the govenor spring was stretched, and I sold him the generator for what i paid for it. he s my best friend and is still using that generator today, 10 years after i bought it

On 8/13/13 12:58 PM, Moe DeLoughan wrote:

I haven't seen the generator and she hasn't been able to provide much in
the way of details, except that it's large and it hasn't been run or
serviced since her husband's death. When she says 'large', I suspect it
will be quite large, because it's a shorefront property and a very
substantial house (seven living rooms, for starters).

I don't know if it's gas or diesel. I don't know the capacity, I don't
know its age. But I'm pretty sure this is going to need some cleaning
and servicing since it hasn't been looked at in about seven years.

I've never owned a generator. Can folks here provide me with tips as to
its cleaning/servicing/testing once it arrives here?

Thanks in advance.


Pour diesel fuel in the cylinders and let the engine sit a few
days if it's locked up.
I resurrected an old V4 Wisconsin gasoline engine by doing that.
It actually ran fairly well once it could turn over.

On 8/13/2013 1:41 PM, devnull wrote:
On 08/13/2013 01:58 PM, Moe DeLoughan wrote:
An elderly friend of my family is moving from Florida back to the
Midwest. Her husband passed away a few years ago and she's decided
their property is too large and hurricanes are too much hassle for
her to deal with on her own.

Some of us will be flying down to help her pack up and move,
including driving her and her worldly goods up to her new home. In
exchange for our help, she's offered us some of her possessions that
she doesn't intend to keep for herself. She's offered me a
generator, which I can use, since I live in a hilly, treed
neighborhood that tends to lose power in severe storms.

I haven't seen the generator and she hasn't been able to provide
much in the way of details, except that it's large and it hasn't
been run or serviced since her husband's death. When she says
'large', I suspect it will be quite large, because it's a shorefront
property and a very substantial house (seven living rooms, for
starters).

I don't know if it's gas or diesel. I don't know the capacity, I
don't know its age. But I'm pretty sure this is going to need some
cleaning and servicing since it hasn't been looked at in about seven
years.

I've never owned a generator. Can folks here provide me with tips as
to its cleaning/servicing/testing once it arrives here?

Thanks in advance.


Good luck with that!

Florida humidity + ocean-front salt air + hasn't been serviced for
seven years = corroded up engine and generator head

That's what I'm afraid of. On the other hand, my brother-in-law is
reasonably handy, and he's captaining the moving mission, so he'll
check out its general condition. If he deems it worth servicing, he'll
load it onto the truck and bring it home.

This lady's husband was very handy, very capable. He took care of his
own equipment for as long as he was able, and supervised the people he
hired when he no longer could do things himself. So I think it's safe
to assume that it was serviced and properly stored after its last use,
and has just been sitting there, waiting, ever since.

There's actually a second, smaller generator as well. It never even
got uncrated, because they only needed this one to run everything. The
smaller one is going to be donated to the local church. Which is
another reason why I'm wondering just how large is the generation I'm
getting, if the smaller generator is enough to meet the church's needs.

On 8/13/2013 2:02 PM, Fred McKenzie wrote:
In article ,
Moe DeLoughan wrote:

An elderly friend of my family is moving from Florida back to the
Midwest. Her husband passed away a few years ago and she's decided
their property is too large and hurricanes are too much hassle for her
to deal with on her own.

Some of us will be flying down to help her pack up and move, including
driving her and her worldly goods up to her new home. In exchange for
our help, she's offered us some of her possessions that she doesn't
intend to keep for herself. She's offered me a generator, which I can
use, since I live in a hilly, treed neighborhood that tends to lose
power in severe storms.

I haven't seen the generator and she hasn't been able to provide much
in the way of details, except that it's large and it hasn't been run
or serviced since her husband's death. When she says 'large', I
suspect it will be quite large, because it's a shorefront property and
a very substantial house (seven living rooms, for starters).

I don't know if it's gas or diesel. I don't know the capacity, I don't
know its age. But I'm pretty sure this is going to need some cleaning
and servicing since it hasn't been looked at in about seven years.

I've never owned a generator. Can folks here provide me with tips as
to its cleaning/servicing/testing once it arrives here?

Moe-

"Large" is in the eye of the beholder.

If a gasoline model, you most certainly will need to drain the old gas
out of the tank and clean the gum out of the carburetor. If a diesel
model, you may need to replace the starting battery. A diesel may start
right up and run with a good battery.

If she does not have the owners manual, you can probably find it on the
web. I suggest you do whatever it takes to get it running and change
the oil. Then pretend it is new, and run it for ten or twenty hours
under some load as a break-in. Then change the oil again and it should
be ready for the power outage.

As a load, you can use an electric heater or two, depending on its power
rating.

If you want to get serious about generators (or various other
machinery), check out www.smokstak.com.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm looking forward to finding out
just what it is (hope it's a diesel). My hope is that I can do
whatever needs doing myself. Dunno what the remaining lifespan of this
will be, but I'm not gonna look gift horsepower in the mouth.

On Wednesday, August 14, 2013 1:16:02 PM UTC-4, Moe DeLoughan wrote:
On 8/13/2013 1:41 PM, devnull wrote:

On 08/13/2013 01:58 PM, Moe DeLoughan wrote:

An elderly friend of my family is moving from Florida back to the

Midwest. Her husband passed away a few years ago and she's decided

their property is too large and hurricanes are too much hassle for

her to deal with on her own.



Some of us will be flying down to help her pack up and move,

including driving her and her worldly goods up to her new home. In

exchange for our help, she's offered us some of her possessions that

she doesn't intend to keep for herself. She's offered me a

generator, which I can use, since I live in a hilly, treed

neighborhood that tends to lose power in severe storms.



I haven't seen the generator and she hasn't been able to provide

much in the way of details, except that it's large and it hasn't

been run or serviced since her husband's death. When she says

'large', I suspect it will be quite large, because it's a shorefront

property and a very substantial house (seven living rooms, for

starters).



I don't know if it's gas or diesel. I don't know the capacity, I

don't know its age. But I'm pretty sure this is going to need some

cleaning and servicing since it hasn't been looked at in about seven

years.



I've never owned a generator. Can folks here provide me with tips as

to its cleaning/servicing/testing once it arrives here?



Thanks in advance.





Good luck with that!



Florida humidity + ocean-front salt air + hasn't been serviced for

seven years = corroded up engine and generator head



That's what I'm afraid of. On the other hand, my brother-in-law is

reasonably handy, and he's captaining the moving mission, so he'll

check out its general condition. If he deems it worth servicing, he'll

load it onto the truck and bring it home.



This lady's husband was very handy, very capable. He took care of his

own equipment for as long as he was able, and supervised the people he

hired when he no longer could do things himself. So I think it's safe

to assume that it was serviced and properly stored after its last use,

and has just been sitting there, waiting, ever since.



There's actually a second, smaller generator as well. It never even

got uncrated, because they only needed this one to run everything. The

smaller one is going to be donated to the local church. Which is

another reason why I'm wondering just how large is the generation I'm

getting, if the smaller generator is enough to meet the church's needs.


The smaller new one was probably the better deal. IDK about other brands,
but if it's a Generac, go to Amazon and take a look at what a whole lot
of people there are saying about their experiences. Everything from it
didn't work right out of the box, to it's been failing many times, to it
ran fine during it's weekly auto start test runs, then failed during afew hours of use. A neighbor had a 12KW one, about 5 yers old, that was professionally installed and it failed during just a few hours use in a hurricane. Gen section shot and the dealer told him it's not worth fixing.
I looked into fixing it for myself, but the parts would be $500+ and given
what I saw on Amazon, decided it wasn't worth it. So, if you intend to install it as a whole house one, or
put money into it for parts, I'd do some checking on the specific make
and model first.

wrote in message
...
On Wednesday, August 14, 2013 1:16:02 PM UTC-4, Moe DeLoughan The smaller
new one was probably the better deal. IDK about other brands,
but if it's a Generac, go to Amazon and take a look at what a whole lot
of people there are saying about their experiences. Everything from it
didn't work right out of the box, to it's been failing many times, to it
ran fine during it's weekly auto start test runs, then failed during afew
hours of use. A neighbor had a 12KW one, about 5 yers old, that was
professionally installed and it failed during just a few hours use in a
hurricane. Gen section shot and the dealer told him it's not worth fixing.
I looked into fixing it for myself, but the parts would be $500+ and given
what I saw on Amazon, decided it wasn't worth it. So, if you intend to
install it as a whole house one, or
put money into it for parts, I'd do some checking on the specific make
and model first.

For many a 5 kw or so is usually about the best size. The larger ones
really burn a lot of gas. If it is powered by oil, then a larger one is
fine.
At 3 to 4 dollars per gallon, the gas generators can get expensive to run.

On Wednesday, August 14, 2013 4:56:38 PM UTC-4, Ralph Mowery wrote:
wrote in message

...

On Wednesday, August 14, 2013 1:16:02 PM UTC-4, Moe DeLoughan The smaller

new one was probably the better deal. IDK about other brands,

but if it's a Generac, go to Amazon and take a look at what a whole lot

of people there are saying about their experiences. Everything from it

didn't work right out of the box, to it's been failing many times, to it

ran fine during it's weekly auto start test runs, then failed during afew

hours of use. A neighbor had a 12KW one, about 5 yers old, that was

professionally installed and it failed during just a few hours use in a

hurricane. Gen section shot and the dealer told him it's not worth fixing.

I looked into fixing it for myself, but the parts would be $500+ and given

what I saw on Amazon, decided it wasn't worth it. So, if you intend to

install it as a whole house one, or

put money into it for parts, I'd do some checking on the specific make

and model first.



For many a 5 kw or so is usually about the best size. The larger ones

really burn a lot of gas. If it is powered by oil, then a larger one is

fine.

At 3 to 4 dollars per gallon, the gas generators can get expensive to run.

How much they burn is highly dependent on the load. But you're right,
with a bigger engine, even at idle or low low, it's going to burn more
than a smaller engine. I also agree that for most people, 5KW is a good
size. Enough to run a gas furnace or oil burner, water pump, fridge, etc.
Especially now that so many things are more energy efficient, ie CFL lights,
fridges that draw 90W running, better efficiency furnace blowers, etc.
The one I was talking about was nat gas fueled, which I think is ideal.
You can get conversions kits for most gas engines that will allow them
to run on nat gas.

On 8/13/2013 12:58 PM, Moe DeLoughan wrote:
An elderly friend of my family is moving from Florida back to the
Midwest. Her husband passed away a few years ago and she's decided their
property is too large and hurricanes are too much hassle for her to deal
with on her own.

Some of us will be flying down to help her pack up and move, including
driving her and her worldly goods up to her new home. In exchange for
our help, she's offered us some of her possessions that she doesn't
intend to keep for herself. She's offered me a generator, which I can
use, since I live in a hilly, treed neighborhood that tends to lose
power in severe storms.

I haven't seen the generator and she hasn't been able to provide much in
the way of details, except that it's large and it hasn't been run or
serviced since her husband's death. When she says 'large', I suspect it
will be quite large, because it's a shorefront property and a very
substantial house (seven living rooms, for starters).

I don't know if it's gas or diesel. I don't know the capacity, I don't
know its age. But I'm pretty sure this is going to need some cleaning
and servicing since it hasn't been looked at in about seven years.

I've never owned a generator. Can folks here provide me with tips as to
its cleaning/servicing/testing once it arrives here?

Thanks in advance.

I used to install and service a lot of generators in homes and
businesses. They all ran on natural gas and had automatic transfer
switches. If the big genset is supplying a large home it will more than
likely have a permanent connection with a transfer switch wired into the
home's electrical system. It's not a simple unplug and carry away.
It can be a big job to remove it so it could be best to sell it with the
home. If you plan on taking the genset home, you really need the
transfer switch too. Some pictures would help. ^_^

TDD

"The Daring Dufas" wrote in message
...
On 8/13/2013 12:58 PM, Moe DeLoughan wrote:
An elderly friend of my family is moving from Florida back to the
Midwest. Her husband passed away a few years ago and she's decided their
property is too large and hurricanes are too much hassle for her to deal
with on her own.

Some of us will be flying down to help her pack up and move, including
driving her and her worldly goods up to her new home. In exchange for
our help, she's offered us some of her possessions that she doesn't
intend to keep for herself. She's offered me a generator, which I can
use, since I live in a hilly, treed neighborhood that tends to lose
power in severe storms.

I haven't seen the generator and she hasn't been able to provide much in
the way of details, except that it's large and it hasn't been run or
serviced since her husband's death. When she says 'large', I suspect it
will be quite large, because it's a shorefront property and a very
substantial house (seven living rooms, for starters).

I don't know if it's gas or diesel. I don't know the capacity, I don't
know its age. But I'm pretty sure this is going to need some cleaning
and servicing since it hasn't been looked at in about seven years.

I've never owned a generator. Can folks here provide me with tips as to
its cleaning/servicing/testing once it arrives here?

Thanks in advance.

I used to install and service a lot of generators in homes and businesses.
They all ran on natural gas and had automatic transfer switches. If the
big genset is supplying a large home it will more than likely have a
permanent connection with a transfer switch wired into the home's
electrical system. It's not a simple unplug and carry away.
It can be a big job to remove it so it could be best to sell it with the
home. If you plan on taking the genset home, you really need the transfer
switch too. Some pictures would help. ^_^

TDD

A lot of old people unknowingly leave cash and jewelry laying around -
rather than worrying about a generator, it's far easier to grab small
valuables (when none of your friends are looking) instead of fooling with a
generator. If "Granny" complains about missing money or jewelry, discretely
remark to others in the group that "she seems to be more and more forgetful
lately" - make up a story about her putting the dog in the washing machine
thinking she was letting him out for a walk - replace the real money in her
wallet with Monopoly money.

On 8/15/2013 7:35 PM, AngryOldWhiteGuy wrote:
"The Daring Dufas" wrote in message
...
On 8/13/2013 12:58 PM, Moe DeLoughan wrote:
An elderly friend of my family is moving from Florida back to the
Midwest. Her husband passed away a few years ago and she's decided their
property is too large and hurricanes are too much hassle for her to deal
with on her own.

Some of us will be flying down to help her pack up and move, including
driving her and her worldly goods up to her new home. In exchange for
our help, she's offered us some of her possessions that she doesn't
intend to keep for herself. She's offered me a generator, which I can
use, since I live in a hilly, treed neighborhood that tends to lose
power in severe storms.

I haven't seen the generator and she hasn't been able to provide much in
the way of details, except that it's large and it hasn't been run or
serviced since her husband's death. When she says 'large', I suspect it
will be quite large, because it's a shorefront property and a very
substantial house (seven living rooms, for starters).

I don't know if it's gas or diesel. I don't know the capacity, I don't
know its age. But I'm pretty sure this is going to need some cleaning
and servicing since it hasn't been looked at in about seven years.

I've never owned a generator. Can folks here provide me with tips as to
its cleaning/servicing/testing once it arrives here?

Thanks in advance.

I used to install and service a lot of generators in homes and businesses.
They all ran on natural gas and had automatic transfer switches. If the
big genset is supplying a large home it will more than likely have a
permanent connection with a transfer switch wired into the home's
electrical system. It's not a simple unplug and carry away.
It can be a big job to remove it so it could be best to sell it with the
home. If you plan on taking the genset home, you really need the transfer
switch too. Some pictures would help. ^_^

TDD

A lot of old people unknowingly leave cash and jewelry laying around -
rather than worrying about a generator, it's far easier to grab small
valuables (when none of your friends are looking) instead of fooling with a
generator. If "Granny" complains about missing money or jewelry, discretely
remark to others in the group that "she seems to be more and more forgetful
lately" - make up a story about her putting the dog in the washing machine
thinking she was letting him out for a walk - replace the real money in her
wallet with Monopoly money.



AOW, you have demonstrated a characteristic of a lot of senior citizens
who develop dementia, you failed to grok the post before commenting. I
would suggest you go back a read the thread before attempting to
contribute to the discussion. You could try nym shifting. ^_^

TDD